ITV ad revenue grows 2% in 2024 amid shift to digital
ITV’s total advertising revenue grew 2% in 2024 to £1.8bn, the broadcaster revealed as part of its full-year 2024 financial results.
The modest growth was driven in part by a 15% year-on-year increase in digital advertising to £482m. Digital ad revenue now accounts for more than a quarter (26%) of ITV’s total ad revenue.
“The growth in our digital revenue has largely offset the decline in linear,” CEO Dame Carolyn McCall declared on the broadcaster’s earnings call.
ITV had previously forecast 2.5% growth in total ad revenue last year after warning it would decline in Q4 due to challenging comparatives and “uncertainty in the lead-up to the UK budget”, although McCall said that “things are [now] stabilising”.
The broadcaster is now expecting total ad revenue to be broadly flat year on year for the first four months of 2025. It has warned that ad revenue is likely to be impacted again by “tough comparatives” against the Euros in June and July, as well as the introduction of tighter ad restrictions on less healthy foods beginning in October.
Meanwhile, total revenue dipped 3% last year to £4.1bn, as ad revenue growth was offset by an expected decline in ITV Studios revenue.
However, ITV grew profits by double digits (+11% to £542m), thanks to record profits in its Studios segment as well as higher profits and increased margin in its Media & Entertainment segment.
Such growth was driven primarily by cost-cutting measures. The broadcaster delivered £60m in savings in 2024 — £10m ahead of what it had planned. It is forecasting a further £30m this year in non-content savings, which will be used to “fund investments and offset inflation”.
“Three years ago, we announced the second phase of our ‘More Than TV’ strategy and today’s results show our significant progress and success in navigating the rapidly changing media industry,” said McCall. “Our significant competitive advantages give us confidence that we will continue to deliver good growth in both ITV Studios and digital revenues, underpinned by the powerful reach and strong cash generation of broadcast.”
She added that ITV is “becoming a more resilient business”, noting that content production and digital now account for nearly two-thirds of ITV’s revenue.
“Our ongoing transformation ensures we are an adaptable and agile company, well-positioned to deliver good profitable growth, strong cash generation and attractive returns to shareholders.”
ITV did not comment on rumours of a potential sale of Studios during the investor call.
ITV Studios leans on Zoo 55 for medium-term growth
ITV’s content arm saw a 6% decline in revenue in 2024 to £2.0bn, but the broadcaster indicated it expects to deliver “good revenue growth” in Studios in 2025, with revenue and profit “weighted to the second half of the year”.
In the medium term, ITV expects revenue and profit growth momentum to accelerate, thanks in part to the January launch of Zoo 55, a “rapidly scaling” digital studios label tasked with driving high-margin growth in the digital distribution market.
The label is a prime facet of ITV’s shift in strategy to embrace YouTube by joining its partner programme in December. Reflecting on the move at The Future of TV Advertising Global event that month, commercial managing director Kelly Williams said he believes there is an “opportunity to build a relatively decently sized business quite quickly on YouTube” that will help the broadcaster diversify its revenue and reach new audiences.
Indeed, McCall said on the earnings call that ITV is already attracting new advertisers on YouTube, including and especially digital-first brands that would not have otherwise spent on ITV’s streaming and linear products.
Apart from publishing ITV content and third-party content on YouTube, Zoo 55 also publishes on other social channels, free ad-supported TV channels and on gaming platforms like Roblox.
McCall said Zoo 55 delivered “around £60m of high-margin digital revenue” in 2024 and that ITV expects to double this by the end of 2027 as it launches more channels and games in more territories.
Apart from Zoo 55, ITV indicated Studios more broadly has a “healthy scripted pipeline” of shows in 2025, such as series two of Rivals on Disney+, Run Away for Netflix and series two of After the Flood for ITV.
On the broadcaster’s earnings call, McCall said ITV Studios’ creative output is “in the strongest shape it’s ever been”. She noted that nearly one-third (30%) of Studios’ revenue is coming from streaming services, with 59% of revenues being generated internationally from a “diversified customer base”.
ITVX to recoup investment ahead of schedule
ITVX, the broadcaster’s streaming service, also grew in 2024. Apart from a double-digit uptick in ad revenue, audiences and viewing time were also up by double digits.
Monthly active users grew 14% year on year to 14.3m. Meanwhile, total streaming hours increased 12% to 1.7bn. Within this, ITV highlighted that streaming hours from the “harder-to-reach” 25- to 54-year-olds grew 22% year on year, noting that more than half of ITVX’s audience is under 55, compared with just 33% for total TV.
Notably, by the end of this year, the broadcaster expects to have recouped its cumulative investment in ITVX — something, if achieved, would be “much earlier than anticipated”.
“ITVX has been the UK’s fastest-growing streaming platform over the last two years and, coupled with our programmatic advertising platform Planet V, has delivered significant growth in both digital viewing and revenues, and is providing attractive returns,” said McCall.
The broadcaster remains on track to deliver at least £750m in total digital revenue in 2026. Total digital revenue grew 12% to £556m in 2024.
The article has been updated after publication to include more details following ITV’s investor call